Posts Tagged ‘Constable’

Last month in the UK a rather grubby and understated painting of a cloudy sky was listed for auction (which takes place today, as it happens – at Sotheby’s in London – so you had better be quick if you want to snap it up!). The work, from a "follower of Constable" had sold for a respectable $40,000 around a year previously at a well-known provincial auctioneers – not bad considering its guide price had been just over $1,000.

Whether it was gut feel or a rather more studied expertise that inspired its purchase, the buyer certainly is looking to make a handsome profit on the deal – Sotheby’s own experts have since confirmed that the work is in fact a genuine Constable and there is speculation that the price could easily breach $750,000 when the hammer falls on it this time around.

Constable, like many other great artists, has been much copied both as tribute and as forgery and cataloguing the works of any prodigious artist who died nearly 200 years ago is never an easy task. Anyone with an interest in the art (!) and science of such detective work may be interested in Philip Mould’s latest book "Sleuth" Mould, resident art expert on the BBC’s Antiques Roadshow, has had more than his fair share of discerning "finds" during his career and has some interesting tales to tell. Some may find his slightly flowery prose grating but it tends to go with the territory in certain art circles. It’s worth a read to help understand the traumas some paintings go through over the course of a century or three and some of the attention they need before they can grace the walls of the leading museums and public galleries.

With an extensive repertoire of ethnic scenes and large abstract canvasses, Dulcie’s passion for art is clearly evident in this bold work. An experienced art teacher, she has a detailed understanding of technique which she employs without losing an ounce of sensitivity.

Gavin’s skill and traditional style in his portraiture is simply superb and the structure and composition of pieces such as this are exemplary. His pieces are in high demand and his commission work rightly held in the highest regard.

" Abstract art places a new world, which on the surface has nothing to do with ‘reality,’ next to the ‘real’ world. "- Wassily Kandinsky

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